5 Reasons to Love Michelle Obama (quotes)

Michelle Obama may be more popular and beloved than her husband at the moment, especially as the mud-slinging season of American politics fires up in full force. People around the world admire the First Lady for being such a strong female role model — balancing motherhood, advocacy work, and her passion for helping kids stay healthy in the ever-critical media lime light.

While her husband is often lauded for his capacity to inspire and motivate people with his words, Michelle herself is an very talented public speaker. Beliefnet put together a list of Mrs. Obama’s most inspiring quotes, and we’ve narrowed it down to five favorites.

Five reasons we’re a fan of the first lady:

1. She’s a dedicated mom.

My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls…that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe.

2. She encourages women to make health and self-care a priority.

Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.

3. She doesn’t sacrifice her integrity under pressure.

One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.

4. She’s an optimist.

You know, you have to start with hope… you don’t get anywhere in this country without hope. It’s a necessity. What Barack says is that people have to understand hope isn’t just blind optimism. It isn’t passive. It isn’t just sitting there waiting for things to get better. Hope is the vision that you have to have. It’s the inspiration that moves people into action… it is all because of hope because people believe in the possibility of something unseen.

5. She’s a gives back to her community.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I’ve tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That’s why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us–no matter what our age or background or walk of life–each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.